The history of naturism in Thailand

Our History

1931 Sarin Foothai registers sunbathing club.
Thai publisher Mr. Sarin Foothai registered the first naturist club in Thailand as "Nikom Arb Daad" meaning Sunbathing Club. He published several books and pamphlets about the benefits of being naked in the sunlight - in particular dawn and dusk - and emphasized physical activity in the nude. The first year, the club had 98 members both men and women and of all ages. In 1932, the absolute monarchy in Thailand was overthrown by a military coup and eventually Sarin Foothai was forced to close the Sunbathing Club due to his links to the Thai royalty and suspicion that he would train a resistance to the military regime.

2007 Naturist Association Thailand Co., Ltd. is founded.
Founding members Ms. Disraporn Yatprom and Mr. Gregers Moller - incidentally both also publishers like Mr. Sarin Foothai - created the current day organization as a limited company together with a few more members who are still active today. The members met for monthly nude dinners or clothing optional dinners, went on trips upcountry up to Kun Dan Dam in Nakornayok and explored hidden coves on Koh Larn where nudity could be practiced without bothering anyone. The association emphasized naturism / nudism strictly as a non-sexual life style - the conservative form of naturism which also Sarin Foothai followed in 1931. Swingers and other forms of nudity for sexual purposes are turned away.

2009 Bruce Kendall moves the association forward.
Bruce Kendall takes over as main organizer. He creates a new website for the association and moves member management to Meetup.com from the local forum on the previous hosting. Bruce serves the members with a steady flow of events, assisted by his wife Jai Kendal and Thai member Marc Pongsabutra. Bruce Kendall remained in the leadership group until he and Jai Kendall in 2019 became the new management team of Phuan Naturist Village south of Pattaya when it became a property rented by Naturist Association Thailand.

2011 Chan Resort becomes first Naturist Friendly resort in Thailand.
Chan Resort was built as a naturist resort following the owner, Chan Konin's positive experience with members of Naturist Association Thailand in his previous resort. Then he sold his old resort to built the new Chan Resort which the Naturist Association Thailand helped inaugurate on 15 September 2011. The old resort was renamed Chan Twin resort by the new owner. Chan Resort remains a cornerstone among the naturist resorts in Thailand and survived the turbulent Covid-19 crisis.

2012 The Oriental Village Chiang Mai comes on board.
In Chiang Mai, French resort owner Paulo Richel followed the example of Chan Resort and declared The Oriental Village Chiang Mai clothing optional. The Naturist Association Thailand arranged its first member weekend at the resort on 16 November 2012 to celebrate the new member of the exclusive club. In 2019, when Paulo Richel opened the Oriental Beach Village in Koh Kho Kao in the PhangNga province north of Phuket, he reached an agreement with the owner of the Chiang Mai property to return it to him. Since then it is no longer a naturist resort.

2015 Barefeet Naturist Resort, Bangkok's first nudist resort.
Barefeet Naturist Resort opened in Bangkok on 1 January 2015 as the first hotel catering for naturists and nudist in Bangkok. The resort has only five rooms, so there is no room for clothing optional - all guests are expected to be nude or in the company of a naturist / nudist. Owners Disraporn Yatprom and Gregers Moller resume a more active role in the leadership if Naturist Association Thailand. In 2018, the couple opened an extension of the resort with a larger pool and more Spa facilities that was an immediate hit with both day guests and staying naturists. During the Covid-19 crisis, the resort became a popular clubhouse for the Bangkok naturist community.

2016 Lemon Tree Resort, first naturist resort on Phuket
On Saturday 21 May 2016, Lemon Tree Resort Naiharn Beach Phuket joined as a resort member of Naturist Association of Thailand (NAT). Lemon Tree Resort is the first naturist resort in Phuket welcoming all naturists to enjoy and explore nudist experience on the island. The resort was leased by Ms. Pattama Sangkhaow in 2015 and together with her partner "Golf" Phakapong Maneechay they joined Naturist Association Thailand as a resort member.  Khun Golf and Khun Patty turned the resort back to its owner in 2018 when they opened their own Peace Blue Naturist Resort in Naiharn, Phuket.

2017 Phuan Naturist Village, Pattaya’s second nudist resort.
Phuan Naturist Village was opened in November 2017 by a group of Thai sisters, the first naturist resort in the world owned, managed and mostly staffed by women. The village has five bungalows and five 2 bedroom villas in a park like setting of 4,403 sq. meters (47,398 sq. ft.). The villas are offered for monthly rental, but the resorts which has become instantly well-known world wide also takes day visitors. Shorter stays by appointment. Like all the naturist resorts in Thailand, also Phuan is strictly a members-only resort. In 2019, pressured by the popularity of AirBnB eating into the toruism market, the authorities started a war on small resorts and guesthouses. Phuan was built on a combined seven land title deeds and it was not possible to obtain a hotel license for the property. Instead, Naturist Association Thailand rented the property and offered it - not as a resort - but as a recreational facility to members only. In 2020, when the Covid-19 crisis blocked foreign naturists from flying to Thailand, the resort was returned to the owners. The owners offered the houses on monthly rental terms only and not to naturists.

2017 Naturist Family Camp, "NF Camp" opens first nudist camp on the sea shore
By the end of 2017, NF Camp - the affectionate name for Naturist Family Camp - gradually started receiving visitors, although the place was still not quite finished. The naturists simply could not wait. NF Camp is located half an hour north of Cha-am in Petchaburi on the sea shore in a district called Haad Puek Tian. The camp site resort was finally finished in January 2018. In March 2019, following a dispute among the shareholders, the manager requested to no longer be associated with Naturist Association Thailand. Its current status is unknown.

2018 Peace Blue Naturist Resort Phuket
19 October 2018, Peace Blue Naturist Resort Phuket opened as a brand new, purpose built naturist resort on Phuket. The owners are Ms. Pattama Sangkhaow and her husband "Golf" Phakapong Maneechay who at the same time terminated their rent for the past three years of Lemon Tree Resort (see above) and moved their guests and activities over to the new, larger and more convenient naturist resort. During the Covid-19 crisis, the resort accepted naturists only on appointments only and with scaled down service. In July 2021, when the Phuket Sandbox was implemented, Peace Blue obtained a license to be 'quarantine hotel' for incoming travellers during the mandatory first 14 days that they had to stay at a SHA+ licensed hotel.

2019 Lemon Tree Naturist Resort Phuket
In January 2019, the new management at Lemon Tree Resort joined as a resort member of Naturist Association of Thailand (NAT). The brand name was already strong and the resort re-opened as a naturist resort under the name Lemon Tree Naturist Resort. With two resorts available in Phuket, the sea, sand and sun island has indeed become a prime location for naturists from around the world. The resort is under the management of Khun Supakit Kaewsrikit "Woody" and Khun Joy. But Khun Woody left Thailand by the end of 2019 and the owner found two new persons to take over the management contract. However, when the Covid-19 crisis hit in 2020, the contract with Naturist Association Thailand expired.

2019 Oriental Beach Village Phuket in PhangNga 
In the second half of 2019, owner of Oriental Village in Chiang Mai, Paulo Richel, renovated a big luxury resort on the island of Koh Kho Kao in PhnagNga north of Phuket. The Opening Party took place in October with a full house of domestic and international naturists. The resorts remained open during the Covid-19 crisis but suffered hard due to the lack of international tourists.

2019 Harmony Naturist Resort Phuket
In November 2019, a new resort, Harmony Naturist Resort opened up on Phuket. The owners, Neil and Tracy Foster had taken over and renovated an old resort on the property and not just brought it up to date but expanded the resort with a new restaurant and bar building next to the swimming pool. When the Covid-19 crisis hit, the couple were fast in adjusting to the new reality and offered the chalets on long term rents to anyone - on the condition that they would not mind that there would be naturists on the property as well.  The mix went surprisingly well and the resort survived the Covid-19 crisis.

2021 Oasis Naturist Villa, Phuket
In the spring of 2021, when the third wave of Covid-19 was sweeping Thailand, a new naturist resort in Phuket surprisingly joined Naturist Association Thailand. The owner, Roger Steinmann had owned the five room villa on the hillside above Karon beach near Patong for ten years and one day he noticed that the trees on the property had grown to fully protect the garden and pool from outside views. As a naturist himself, he thought he would add his villa to the offer for visiting naturists to stay in a green oasis - albeit a short distance from the beach and other main attractions on Phuket.